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Author Topic: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.  (Read 4741 times)

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Vigo

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Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« on: April 12, 2013, 05:04:52 pm »
You can file this as another episode of how Vigo's plight is your entertainment.

Like most of the country, I was blanketed in snow over the last few days. It wasn't too bad of a snowstorm here, but there is the small issue that I live in a house that is older than Ethel Merman.  Well, without fail my roof started leaking again from the snow melt yesterday. Since my roof is a break-your-neck-in-5-places kind of steep, I set off to my attic crawl space to caulk up the leak from in inside of the house.

This is a huge ordeal, since the hatch to my crawl space is only about as wide as the keyboard I am typing on.It is an acrobatic feat to worm myself in this tiny hole in the closet ceiling. I work my way in and bring along 3 tubes of outdoor caulk  sealant to plug the leak. Well, I found the hole in the roof pretty easily, but let me just say: Caulk gets old. Caulk expires. Do not store caulk for more than a couple years. It was not until I opened that first tube that I realized I had brought some nasty, old caulk. The caulk was firm like it should be, but  runny whitish goo with the consistancy of Arby's sauce. Completely horrid rubbish. I mean the minute I tried to apply it, it dropped off of the roof slat and onto the insulation below.

This is the point in time where I factored in whether I wanted to do a good job, or just get the job done quickly. I don't exactly like contort myself in and out of that hatch, so getting new caulk was too much of a chore. Since this a crawl space in a house from the early 19th century that I plan on selling in a year, the lazy route won over and I decided to spray caulk all over the hole, and in between the roof slats. In 3 minutes flat I had caulk dripping all over the place, but at least I had that hole covered up.

So back to the point, (which has nothing to do with what you were all thinking, get your mind out of that gutter :P).  My wife popped her head in the hatch to see if I needed anything (3 minutes too late  :banghead:) and I told her to get me some new caulk and traps for Satan's pet Squirrel that made a home in the attic. (That's a different story) She comes back with the traps and some good old silicone sealant, which is what I should have been using from the beginning if I didn't have so much damn caulk to go through. kneeling parallel along a couple ceiling joists I lean over to set the trap. That's when I heard a horrid creak come from the drywall below (the plaster ceiling had been replaced at some point).

Well, that sound completely paralyzed me, I sat motionless for about 5 seconds before shrugging the sound off as a "creepy old house noise". That's when it happened. The 8 feet of Drywall below me caved in completely and fell into the room below. Here I am on my hands and knees straddling floor joists, witnessing drywall, insulation and squirrel feces crash down into the baby's room below. Thank God neither of my kids were there, but the problem was that nobody was around at all, because at that moment I realized that a rainfall of caulk was starting to drip onto the carpet, crib and baby clothes below. I'm a married guy, that means I know full well that my life depends on the carpet and baby stuff not getting damaged due to my own dumb lazy caulk job.

Being crammed in a crawl space above a gaping hole with no mobility and nothing nearby to grab, my Macgyver prowess to block the caulk was simply not there. Maybe there were other options, but I couldn't think of anything. I did the only thing that I could think of. I began to catch the caulk-drip with my head. Screaming at the top of my lungs for my wife to come and help, all the while caulk is dripping down my hair. My World-record Snacks 'n Jaxson skills came into play, as I used my face as a paddle to catch the falling caulk with immense precision. It was a good 5 minutes before wife heard me and came to help. By then most of the caulk had dripped on to me, but I at least had saved the carpet and baby stuff.

So by the time I had gotten out of the crawl space, the caulk was already hardening on my head. To the point where I could either shave my head or go to work the next day looking like a flock a birds crapped all over my head. I shaved my head. As for the ceiling in the baby room....well, I got a weekend project.

« Last Edit: April 12, 2013, 05:07:20 pm by Vigo »

Howard_Casto

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2013, 05:29:11 pm »
Words fail me.  I would share one of my horror stories to make you feel better, but honestly, I think you win. 

The only thing that even comes close is when I tried to fix the faulty wiring on my grandma's crystal chandelier only to have it come crashing down to the floor below.  But I managed to replace the broken parts, so it wasn't that bad. 

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2013, 05:40:05 pm »
Cool story, bro.  :laugh2:
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Nephasth

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2013, 05:46:12 pm »
Oofta.

Vigo

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2013, 06:13:10 pm »
Haha, thanks guys.  :cheers: sometimes its good to endure these things just for the memories and to have a good story. It sucks that I have to replace a chunk of ceiling, and my hair is gone, but at least now I have an excuse to do impersonations of Sgt Hartman from full metal jacket.  ;D


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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2013, 06:18:42 pm »
Well look on the bright side, you now have an opportunity to make a bigger access hatch to get into your new man cave.

Just get rid of the squirrel or call the turtleman to help you out.

If I had only one wish, it would be for three more wishes.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #6 on: April 12, 2013, 06:48:01 pm »
Nice...well not really but thanks for a good laugh. 

Howard_Casto

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #7 on: April 12, 2013, 07:04:34 pm »
Well look on the bright side, you now have an opportunity to make a bigger access hatch to get into your new man cave.

Just get rid of the squirrel or call the turtleman to help you out.



Just remember folks he's not from WV, he was merely visiting there.  Kentucky, that's just a whole other level that makes us look positively civilized.  ;)

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #8 on: April 15, 2013, 01:19:37 pm »
That's crazy man!  Just remember, these situations build character.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2013, 01:22:09 pm »
Pics, or it didn't happen.

ChadTower

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2013, 01:30:41 pm »

I am apalled that the moderator of this forum would ask a member for pictures of his caulk.



Only Mr Curmudgeon should be doing that.




Vigo

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2013, 02:55:12 pm »
I didn't take pictures of caulk on my head, but if you want to see pictures of my hole, I can post that.  :lol

3 feet by 8 feet of drywall on a ceiling is a horrible 1 person job without a drywall lift, but I got it done with the help of a ladder holding half of the drywall for me. Glad it wasn't a full sheet though. Right now I got new drywall back on the ceiling and in the middle adding joint compound. Hopefully it wont be long before I can paint.

Gray_Area

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #12 on: April 15, 2013, 03:03:48 pm »

I am apalled that the moderator of this forum would ask a member for pictures of his caulk.



Only Mr Curmudgeon should be doing that.





Finally a caulk joke.


Vigo, why didn't you ask the wife to help you for a couple minutes to put up the dry wall?  Why didn't you yell down at her in the first place to bring you up some new stuff?

Baby stuff and carpet.....man, gender roles are a sick sick thing.
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Vigo

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #13 on: April 15, 2013, 03:26:05 pm »
Well, I did try yelling down to her to get me some new caulk, but she was on the main floor, and I was in the attic crawlspace above the second floor. She couldn't hear me and I was too lazy to holler more than a couple times. In the past when I went up to there, I would bring along a walkie talkie for when I needed stuff, but our set needs new batteries.

As far as asking her for help with the drywall.....well we have a toddler and an infant, and I was mostly just asking her to keep them entertained. When I was ready to screw in the drywall, my toddler was in hyperdrive, and again, lazy and didn't want to wait. Plus my wife hates lifting stuff heavy.

Baby stuff and carpet.....man, gender roles are a sick sick thing.

Heh, I hear ya man. I personally would have preferred to keep my hair.

Le Chuck

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2013, 03:40:53 pm »
 :applaud:  :laugh2:  :applaud:  :laugh2:

So glad it wasn't me!  You win. 

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #15 on: April 15, 2013, 08:22:59 pm »
Man, what a story! I feel for you man. It's true, when it rains it pours.

Hey Howard, Im from Kentucky! And I could tell you some things about West Virginians, but I wont.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #16 on: April 15, 2013, 09:23:20 pm »

On a more serious note, I've had some problems using tubes of caulk that have been in storage a while.  Been there on that one.  I did my bathroom with some silicone caulk that never set.  That was a ---smurfette--- to clean up.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #17 on: April 15, 2013, 10:13:28 pm »
I was thinking of what would've gotten that stuff out of your hair...or out of the carpet.....Dissolve-It. Or mineral oil. The Desolve-It would've been kinder, on both I think.


When I was in Vir-giny, I heard some redneck ---maternal-smurfs--- lived in WV.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2013, 10:15:28 pm by Gray_Area »
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Vigo

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #18 on: April 15, 2013, 11:35:11 pm »
I was thinking of what would've gotten that stuff out of your hair...or out of the carpet.....Dissolve-It. Or mineral oil. The Desolve-It would've been kinder, on both I think.

Yeah, it might have worked. I wasn't gonna try anything at one in the morning though. With what I had on hand and with the rate I was going, I probably would have bleached my hair. Then I guess I would be a tow-head like you asked.  :lol
« Last Edit: April 15, 2013, 11:42:25 pm by Vigo »

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #19 on: April 15, 2013, 11:49:27 pm »
Here are pictures of my hole:


My house isn't that poorly insulated. I peeled away the top layer of insulation before caulking.


You can see some remnants of caulk-dribble still on the drywall and ceiling joist, but I sopped up everything I could at this point.


New Sheet of moisture and mold resistant drywall. Yeah, I nerfed a corner on it,


And the first coat of joint compound on there.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #20 on: April 18, 2013, 02:58:49 pm »
Yeah, that was definitely spooge.

One AM? I'm not understanding. Oh, and I think it was called Resolve-It. But seems they don't make it anymore.

Yeah, that thread got cacked right quick after my last post, don't know whether because of it, so I didn't see.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2013, 03:01:00 pm by Gray_Area »
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Vigo

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #21 on: April 18, 2013, 03:25:44 pm »
One AM? I'm not understanding.

Yeah, I guess when I say 1 AM, I mean that was the time that I was free enough. I started working on the leak at about 5:30 pm, and it was about 6:00 or so when the ceiling fell through. Emergency clean-up was until 7ish, and by then the caulk was starting to harden in my hair, and I knew I would be spending a long time trying to remove it. I could have done something then, but felt there was other stuff to worry about. With dinner, cleaning out the bedroom and relocating my son's stuff, my kid didn't go to sleep until after midnight. It was almost 1 in the morning before I could sit down and decide what to do about my hair.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #22 on: April 18, 2013, 07:35:55 pm »
Did you trap the squirrel or is he still on the lamb?

Our soffit had come loose in a three foot section and it was reattached only to discover noises in the attic a few days later.  A squirrel had set up shop and I'm assuming couldn't get out since there were no visible holes anywhere else.  After catching him a week later I heard more noises (wish I was hearing things) so I set the trap again, caught the accomplice, and sent him on his way.  Needless to say I really hate squirrels now.

No 2x4s to hold up the drywall while attaching?
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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #23 on: April 19, 2013, 09:20:26 am »

He's really effed if he has lambs in his attic.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #24 on: April 19, 2013, 10:43:48 am »
No luck, they didn't fall for the traps. I admit i am an amateur with traps. maybe I'll have to place something outside, because that is where their food source is. My block has been infested with squirrels since my grill violating neighbors leave their garbage can lid open, don't use bags, and dump tons of uneaten food in the trash.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #25 on: April 19, 2013, 10:52:55 am »

Put a dog in the attic.  Close the attic door.  Go back in when the ruckus has stopped.

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #26 on: April 19, 2013, 11:43:27 am »
squirrels are like bird's or mice
once they set up shop as it is
they tend to be nasty about leaving..
a radio keep's them at bay,dose not have to be loud,just on with a tad of volume
yup a dog will get the squirrels,but u need to find fix the entry point...
i just tend to evict them for none payment of rent

ed
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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #27 on: April 19, 2013, 07:20:48 pm »
squirrels are like bird's or mice
once they set up shop as it is
they tend to be nasty about leaving..
a radio keep's them at bay,dose not have to be loud,just on with a tad of volume
yup a dog will get the squirrels,but u need to find fix the entry point...
i just tend to evict them for none payment of rent

ed

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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #28 on: April 19, 2013, 08:13:18 pm »
squirrels are like bird's or mice
once they set up shop as it is
they tend to be nasty about leaving..
a radio keep's them at bay,dose not have to be loud,just on with a tad of volume
yup a dog will get the squirrels,but u need to find fix the entry point...
i just tend to evict them for none payment of rent

ed

When I read Ed's posts I do so in the voice of Garrison Keillor reading the Writer's Almanac and everything makes sense.  The man is surprisingly poetic. 

Purdy words.
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Re: Life Lesson: Your old caulk can get very drippy.
« Reply #29 on: April 21, 2013, 05:22:42 pm »
Try a cup of menthol/peppermint/etc up there. Might smell em out.

Tell the neighbors to start composting. Might as well give it to them.

When I read Ed's posts I do so in the voice of Garrison Keillor reading the Writer's Almanac and everything makes sense.  The man is surprisingly poetic. 

Huh. I don't know as I can imagine that one. But sounds neat.
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